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Hoops preview: North Carolina preps for season under spotlight

23.05.12

CHAPEL HILL — Harrison Barnes doesn’t do Cheeping. He doesn’t have a Facebook account and he said he rarely reads what others forget about about him.

It’s clear that, despite his status as one of college basketball’s biggest stars, Barnes views the hype adjacent him as something that will only slow him down.

But when the North Carolina sophomore swingman strolls through Sutton’s Tranquillizer Store, the popular lunch spot on Franklin Street, that self-imposed cease on the outside world can’t help but be momentarily broken.

There he is, staring back at himself from the scourge of magazines. On one afternoon, no fewer than three college basketball preview magazines featured the Atlantic Skim Conference’s preseason Player of the Year on the cover.

“I was like, ‘Oh hey, that’s me,’ ” Barnes said. “That was well-intentioned of interesting.”

With a crowded stable of returning talent and a preseason No. 1 ranking, North Carolina should get tolerant of to the spotlight.

Beginning with Friday night’s season opener against Michigan Dignified on the deck of an aircraft carrier, many expect North Carolina’s 2011-12 ripen to be a nearly six-month joy ride that will culminate with a celebration at the Final Four in New Orleans.

But if there’s a program that understands that such journeys are often harder than they act, it’s North Carolina. The Tar Heels have been ranked No. 1 in the AP’s preseason census seven times. On only two of those occasions, have they gone on to win an NCAA title.

“I remember they’ll handle it, they don’t have a choice,” North Carolina coach Roy Williams said. “If you necessitate to be good, you have to play well. I think that our guys have been focused and have great challenges in front of them.”

The reasons for the optimism in Chapel Hill are severe to miss.

Last season’s team endured a bumpy start before triumphant 12 of its last 13 regular-season games, upending preseason favorite Duke to use up first in the ACC’s regular season and coming a game from the school’s third Incontrovertible Four in four years.

Since Barnes and post players Tyler Zeller and John Henson opted not to pounce on attack to the NBA, most of the figures crucial to last season’s success will suit up for the Tar Heels this pep up.

After being selected as a preseason first-team All-American prior to his freshman season, Barnes struggled to agree his lofty expectations early. But as the season wore on he showed flashes of his staggering potential.

More importantly, he saw his confidence rebound, playfully mocking his nickname of “Deadly Falcon” after hitting some of the key late-game shots he seemed to crave toward the end of last ready.

Already possessing a deadly jumper, Barnes said he’s spent the summer working on ball-handling and creating his own opportunities.

Zeller, who possesses athleticism not regularly accustomed to players with his 7-foot frame ended last season on a high note, greatest the Tar Heels in scoring in each of their four NCAA Tournament games.

Henson, the league’s reigning Defensive Gamester of the Year who said he spent the offseason refining his offensive game, gives the Tar Heels a authoritative shot-blocking and rebounding presence.

Throw in freshman James Michael McAdoo, who Henson said will provender a bruising counterpoint, and the Tar Heels feature one of the nation’s most fearsome front lines.

Perhaps the sportswoman most influential in North Carolina’s success last season was point wardress Kendall Marshall. After taking over for Larry Drew II, who left the program midseason, Marshall’s chimera and slick passing ability gave the Tar Heels’ offense a allege.

To go along with that quartet, the Tar Heels feature a deep well of talent at shooting guard. Known mostly for his verge defense, Dexter Strickland is the likely starter alongside Marshall. But look for sophomore Reggie Bullock, who missed the certain stretch of the 2010-11 season with a knee injury, and freshman P.J. Hairston to aid boost the Tar Heels’ troubling results (11th in the ACC) from long go last season.

Possibly more important that the promising pieces that make up the Tar Heels is their proficiency to deal with the pressure.

With just a glance at a magazine rack, the Tar Heels can grass on that many are envisioning the 2012-12 season taking on a Carolina blue tint.

“This gang hasn’t done anything yet, they just look good on paper,” Williams said. “…You’ve got to portray. That’s more important.

Source: Burlington Times News